1. Germany is said to be demanding entire Rumanian wheat crop, also part of what is left over from 1938 crop. Daily Telegraph [a]

2. Large-scale practice blackout on Sat. night said to have gone off successfully. Daily Telegraph [b]

Social

1. Groups of friends entering militia are being[1] split up, sufficiently noticeably for this to call for explanation by the W[ar].O[ffice].[2] Daily Telegraph [c]

Party Politics

1. Papers which appealed on July 3 for inclusion of Churchill in cabinet were D. Tel., Yorkshire Post, News-C., M. Guardian and Dy. Mirror. It is alleged that Communist party after demanding C’s inclusion for some months are becoming alarmed now that it appears likely to happen. Socialist Correspondence, 8.7.39

[2] The practice of separating friends, especially from the same locality, was designed to ensure that if a unit suffered heavy losses they were not all felt in the same town or city. This policy was adopted following the terrible casualties inflicted at the Battle of the Somme (July-October 1916), when units of men from the same place (e.g. the Exeter Boys) trained together, went into action together, and were then almost wiped out in a few moments, which concentrated the grief felt at home. The effect of the deaths of the five Sullivan brothers when U.S.S. Juneau was sunk, 13 November 1942, is another example. Peter Davison

One Response to 10.7.39

My father participated in these kind of practice blackouts on the coast of California. He was a volunteer, riding a motorcycle (Triumph or Rudge, maybe Ariel) along the beach area, at night with no lights, looking for people with their lights still on. He said is was actually quite nice to ride that way when the roads were completely empty.